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] lambmj %tralb 1 ______________????____________________________ - ? ?? ? ? ?V * ''' ? ' $2.00 Per Year in Advance BAMBERG, S. C., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1921. Established in 1891 '.J OIL TANK EXPLOSION SAVES BURNING SHIP flames snuffed out when fuel containers burst. Vessel on Fire 24 Hours Several Members of Crew Badly Burned While Fighting Desperately Against Odds. Jacksonville, Fla., Jan. 30.?The Italian setamer Nettuno, Capt. G. Bersini, en route from Port Arthur, Texas, to Brinisdi, was towed into this port today by the coast guard cutter Yamacraw after being afire at aea_ Captain Bersini attributes the salvation of his ship to a miracle?the explosion of her fuel oil tanks, which literally snuffed out the fire after it had raged unchecked for. 24 hours. The blaze originated in the engine room from a bursting feed pipe when the Nettuno was four days out from Port Arthur from which she cleared on January 21 with a cargo of gasoline and fuel oil. At that time she was off the Florida coast in the vicinity of Bermuda. In a few moments the Nettuno was a seething inferno amidships and Captain Bersini stated that it did not seem possible for her to remain afloat but a short time. Seated in his badly damaged cabin this afternoon while the Nettuno swung easily at anchor in the river, Captain Bersini painted a vivid picture of the horror through which he and the ship's personnel lived during the .24 hours the fire raged unchecked in the ship wallowing helplessly in heavy seas. Fight Courageously. It was also a story of courage and devotion of duty such as men are seldom called upon to perform. The crew fought with desperation to keep the fires from the gasoline stored in the hold of the vessel. The fight, however, appeared hopeless, according to Captain Bersini, and momentarily he expected the flames to reach .the gasoline and blow the ship to atoms. , Practically ^very lifeboat aboard the Nettuno had either been carried away or smashed by the terrible buffeting the tanker sustained during the. hours the fire twisted and wrecked her engine room and warped and cracked her steel decks and side plates. The fact that the crew had no lifeboats in which to leave the burning vessel added to the horror * of the situation. Captain Bersini spoke in the highest terms of the behavior of his officers and crew, speaking freely of the heroic work of the two chief engineers, Betteno and Cross, as well as of the heroism of Engineer Jandi Joanna, who volunteered to go below at the time the feed pipe burst to shut off the flow of oil and rescue the firemen trapped in the fire room. Joanna was so severely burned that Captain Bersini stated he did not think the engineer could survive. His clothing was burned from his body and his fleSh in many places literally cooked. Joanna and the two firemen, Brancalaone and Losito, transferred to the Belgian steamer * Kremlin on January 26, the day after the fire aboard the Nettuno had been extinguished and sent to Newport News. * The Yamacraw, which had been advised to look out for the Nettuno, picked up the ship on January 28 and headed for Jacksonville. The Nettuno is owned by the Italian state railways, her home port being Palmera, Italy. The ship is so badly damaged that *x 9 ? x? J ? V* r, 4- -J-f ttrill Ka WfioTrc II IS eSLlilittltJU tuac 11. TTXix before she is again ready for sea. A representative of the owners is expected here tomorrow from New York. The Nettuno is a 6,0-00 ton ship, 400 feet in length with a breadth of 60 feet. Captain Bersini stated he had had four years of war, had two ships torpedoed under him by submarines, was badly wounded in one of the explosions, but these experiences -were nothing compared to the horror through which he had just emerged. For four days the crew of the Nettuno was without food or sleep. Vienna.?Prices of the state opera and the state theater again have been increased, until a box at the opera now costs 2,880 crowns for 200 performances, as against 1,250 crowns in the old days. JOINT ASSEMBLY HOLDS ELECTIONS COLONEL SANDERS PENITENTIARY SUPERINTENDENT. Game Warden Named A. A. Richardson Selected for Position By Members of General Assembly. Columbia, Jan. 28.?The election of the superintendent of the state penitentiary, the chief state game : warden and four circuit judges and j the filling of three vacancies on board ! of directors of the state penitentiary j constitute the business transacted at' ! yesterday's twTo hour session of the \ joint assembly of the senate and house of representatives. Col. A. K. Sanders was reelected superintendent of the state peniten! tiarv for another term of two years ! by the general assembly, winning over his three contestants on the first ; ballot. Superintendent Sanders was : first elected head of the state peni| tentiary four years ago and during | his administration has proved himself i | one of the state's most efficient and! capable officials. Especially significant during these four years under j ! Colonel Sanders has been the gradual ; inauguration with no small success j of the honor system at the stat? pris; on. The systematic abandonment of the antiquated, methods of prison management will continue throughout his coming term, Colonel Sanders announces, th? innovations being, made as rapidly as possible. Electedl on First Ballot. The first and only ballot showed I the following result: Col. A. K. Sanders, 115 votes; P. H. Lesesne, of Columbia, 37 votes; R. E. Craig, of Columbia, 2 votes, and J. Lawrence McGee, of Anderson, 9 votes. Eightytwo votes were necessary for election. A. A. Richardson, of Columbia, was elected chief game warden of the state on the second ballot over a field of six nominees, R. H. Mc Adams, of Due Yest? standing second in bo^h ballots. Mr. Richardson, who was formerly chief state game warden, will succeed W. H. Gibbes, who has asked to be relieved of the duties of the office. ;With 162 senators and representatives voting, the first ballot stood: W. H. Hames, of Union, 17 votes; R. ,,TJ[. McAdams, of Due West, 33 votes; A. A. Richardson, of Columbia, 72 votes; P. W. DeVore, of Greenwood, 10 votes; E. A. Early, of Darlington, 21 votes and J. W. Folk, of Newberry, 9 votes. Mr. Devore's name was withdrawn * from the race and the second ballot taken: Hames, 16 votes; McAdams, 35 votes; Richardson, 84 votes; Early 14 votes, and Folk 3 votes. On? hundred and fifty-two members voted on the second roll call, 77 votes being necessary to declare a choice. Circuit Judges Reelected. Four circuit jurges, whose terms expired this year, were unanimously reelected by the joint assembly on viva voce ballots as follows: Judge W. H. Townsend for the Fifth judicial circuit, Judge T. S. Sease for the seventh circuit, Judge R. W. Memminger for the ninth corcuit and Judge George E. Prince for the tenth circuit. O. C. Scarborough, of Summertcn, and J. M. Smith, of Smoaks, were reelected members of the board of directors of the state penitentiary while G. A. Mosely, of Camden, was also named s director of the in stitution, defeating J. A. McDermott, of Conway, the incumbent. Only one ballot was required, th? vote standing: Mosely, 125 "^tes; Smith, 116 votes; Scarborough, 142 votes, and McDermott, 109 votes. The joint assembly adjourned to reconvenea t noon today, the election of four members of the board of trustees of the state medical college being the only business scheduled for consideration. Members of the board, whose terms expire this year, 'are: Dr. H. H. Wyman, of Aiken; Dr. W. W. Fennell, of Rock Hill; Dr. R. E. Hughes, of Laurens, and Dr. W. S. Lynch, of- Scranton. ? <eii Frost Bitten Congers. London.?The prolonged frost has had a curious effect upon the fish in the channel, and at Deal a number of dead fish were discovered by boatsmen on the beach. They comprised large congers, cod, whiting, sprats and others. Most of the fish were frost bitten, especially the congers which are susceptible to frost, j E. D. B1GHAM CHARG- I ED WITH SLAYING 5 CORONER'S JURY HOLDS HIM I FOR TERRIBLE DEED. Land Deed In Question Clerk of Court Says That it Shows ] Evidences of Having Been Changed Relative to Grantees. Florence. Jan. 27.?That E. D. Bigham was the perpetrator of the|< crime which cost the lives of three ] members of the Bigham family and ( the two adopted children of the late < Mrs. Black is the opinion of the jury 1 of inquest which rendered its ver- ] diet tonight. j After hearing at Pamplico the tes- < timony of thirty witnesses, including the reexamination of Mrs. Bigham, p the wife of Edmund Bigham, and his j ] oldest daughter, the jury found that; i Mrs. A. M. Bigham, Mrs. Margie! 1 Black, the two McCracken children, h aged three and six, and L. S. Bigham j I had come to their deaths at the hands i of E. D. Bigham. Coroner Smith will issue a warrant charging E. D. Bigham with the mur- 1 ders. Bingham is now being held at i the county jail on a warrant sworn i i out by John McCracken, the father of | the two murdered children. This < warranty was served and Bingham arrested on January 20, five days : after the tragedy at the Bingham : home, two miles from Pamplico. ? It was at first believed that L. S. : Bigham in a fit of despondency over alleged financial troubles had com- ' mitted the murders and then killed i himself, but following the strong sentiment in the community that such 1 could not have been the case, Coroner Smith continued his investigation i and has built up a case the circi^m- : stances of which, based on the evidence adduced, are believed by the jury of inquest to be suificiently i strong to warrant the accusing of Edmund Bigham. 1 Phillip H. Arrowsmith conducted . the investigation for the coroner at the hearing. He dug deep into the : case. The two Singletary negroes,? who have been in jail bore fur several days as material witnesses and the wile " of Andrew Singletary, were import- ' anjt witnesses. Andrew Singletary:; testified that after the wood cutters : # had been paid off Saturday, January 15, E. D. Bigham and L. S. Bigham remained in the woods. Later, he ' passed the house with his wife and son going to Pamplico and saw E. D. 1 Bigham emerge from tli9 woods 1 alone, after looking up and down the road, proceed to the house. This was after Mrs. Bigham had sent a vest out to him by one of the McCracken children. Bigham went tc- 1 j* j_i i ?*i.i. l i rn"U ^ wara me iiuuse wim ue cuuu. j hc time was about 3 o'clock. His testimony was corroborated by his wife 1 and son. Has Hurried Conference. Ribert Foxworth testified that Edmund Bigham, with his family in his car, had swept up to his house, which was only a short distance from the Bigham home, and had a hurried conversation with him, so hurried in fact, that the witness did not remember much about it. Bigham then turned his car in the direction of the Bigham home. The testimony of Mrs. Bigham and k of th? oldest daughter is said to have varied considerably from that giver at the hearing Sunday, January 10, and although the two were together in the car on the trip to and from Foxworth's their stories, of what had occurred conflicted at several points. It was stated today that the deed which Mrs. Bigham prejented to Clerk of Court Singletary for record- , ing and which was later withdrawn . by her for the reason that she did , ?-?/-? + Tiotrn nnffloionf mftnor T I. r?QV uul uarc ouiuv<iuui uivuwj v.?v ^v< the revenue stamps, amounting to , $42, has not yet been recovered. Mrs. ( Bigham is said to have stated that' she delivered the deed to her bus-', band at the jail. This deed, according to Mr. Single- ( tary, who read it closely while it w^s in his possession, was signed bv Mrs. 1 M. M. Bigham, Mrs. Margie Black and L. S. Bigham, and conveyed the ! entire Bigham property to Ed. Bigham for a consideration of $42,000. 1 Mr. Singletary declares that the deed bears every appearance of having been tampered with and that i: is evident that the names of the original grantees had been erased and the 1 name of Edmund Bigham written % CARTER SECOND IN JUSTICE BALLOTING jOcal man develops strength IN JOINT SESSION. T. P. Cothran Elected Local Attorney Ran Ahead of Three Circuit Judges in Contest For Associate Justice. Columbia, Jan. 27.?Thomas P. Dothran, of Greenville, speaker of the louse of representatives, was yesteriay elected a member of the supreme :ourt of South Carolina to fill the vacancy caused by the death of D. E. Hydrick, who passed away recently in iri crf^ri offor Vi a vir> cr ronHororl T? Ui.LV/i UUf I iiiQ A VJU\AVA WM listinguished service to his state. The election of Speaker Cothran, which had been freely predicted by bis numerous friends and admirers in the general assembly, came on the third ballot, other men voted for on the third ballot being Thomas_ S. 3ease, of Spartanburg, judge of the seventh circuit, who received 27 votes, and Jesse F. Carter, of Bamberg, who received 33 votes. Speaker \ Cothran received 105 vote3 on the third ballot, 84 being necessary to an election. Afttfr the joint assembly had been called to order at noon, Senator Proctor A. Bonham, of Greenville, uominated Thomas P. Cothran; Senator Arthur A. Young, of Charleston, nominated R. Withers Memminger; Representative S. T. D. Lancaster of Spartanburg nominated Thomas S. Sease; Senator J. B. Black, of Bamberg, nominated Jesse F. Carter; Senator G. E. Laney, of Chesterfield, nominated Edward Mclver. After these names had been submitted, the nominations were closed and th? balloting began. After the first two ballots had been taken with no election resulting, Senator Young, of Charleston, withdrew the name of Judge Memminger, and Senator Laney withdrew the name oi Judge Mclver. Following was the ballot: 9 9 ? ~ ? s s. ? ? s E d* 3 < ? 3 3 8 ? 3 s crc ? First ballot .. .. 28 75 15 16 32 Second ballot.. .. 27 82 13 15 30 Third ballot .. ..[ 33)106 ? ? 27 Lieut. Gov. Wilson G. Harvey, whc was presiding over the joint session of the assembly, announced that Mr, Jothran had been duly elected to the supreme court and dissolved the joint session. , Carter Shows Strength. One of the interesting features oi the election and one commented upon by many members was the strength shown by Jesse F. Carter, of Bamberg, a man not very widelj known, yet who managed to make a strong showing. His friends were greatly pleased at the strength he mustered. It had been predicted for some days that Mr. Cothran would be the choice of the assembly for the high post and the fact that he was an easy leader on every ballot demonstrated the accuracy of the forecasts as to his popularity with members of the assembly, The tellers for the election yesterday were Senators W. F. Lightsey of Hampton, S. H. McGhee, of Greenwood, and H. L. Smith, Jr., of Georgetown; Representatives M. C. Foster, of Spartanburg, T. S. McMillan, oi Charleston, and W. L. Riley, of Bamberg. No other office other than that for the position on the supreme bench was balloted for yesterday, though several elections are yet to be held. The fine January weather has given the farmers an excellent opportunity to get their farming operations under way. A great deal of land has ' 1 1 - 11. tv?nr?xr "i r? _ Deen oroKen, aiiiiuugii m mauj instances the farmers are yet undecided on their various crop acreages for the next season. It appears to be a certainty, though, that the acreage in cotton will be the smallest on record for recent years. therein. It was executed at Charleston originally and was probated by Sam Rittenberg, notary public. According to Mr. Singletary the consideration also appeared to have been changed eliminating reference to the mortgage covering the bond for Cleveland Bigham. Mrs. E. D. Bigham took this deed to the clerk of court last week, but did not leave it with him for purposes of record. POWERS OF ALLIES j FIND UNITED FRONT SUPREME COUNCIL REACHES REPARATION AGREEMENT. 226,000,000,000 Gold Marks Payment to Cover Period of Forty Years.?Conference Results in Satisfaction to All. Paris, Jan. 29.?Full argeement on reparations, German disarmament and all other important questions before it was reached by the supreme council of the allies when it adjourned at 5:40 o'clock this evening to meet in London February 21. The greatest result obtained was, as M. Briand, the French premier, expressed after the closing session, "maintenance by the allies of a front as united in making peace as it was , in making war." Count Sforza, the Italian foreign minister, and Mr. Briand said the conference had result, ed to the satisfaction of everybody concerned. A proctocol was signed approving , the reparations scheme as agreed by , the special committee appointed by the council to consider the subject and also the report on the disarmament of Germany as presented by . the military committee. Under these arrangements Germany must disarm by July 1, disbanding all her civic guards not provided for in the Versailles treaty. Germany will be called upon to pay in 42 annuities on a sliding scale 226,000,000,000 gold marks. Her exports will in addition bear an ex . port duty of 12 per cent, and tnat . will go to the alltes. On the basis . of last year's exports, this would give the allies 1,250,000,000 gold marks or 12 per cent, of whatever money with which the exports are paid for. . Thus, it is estimated, the first pay. ment made by Germany will be 3,i 250,000,000 gold marks, the export ? tax being entirely in cash. Means Protective Tariff. It is pointed out that besides be: ing a sure method of collection of the reparation, it will act as a protective tariff in countries that are neighbors of Germany, which are likely to be flooded with goods made : in Germany at very low cost of proi duction because of the relatively low value of the mark and which con| sequently can be oyered in foreign L markets at very low prices in foreign money. The penalties agreed k upon by the.council for violations by . Germany will apply to all the agreements alike ? reparations, disarmament and coal deliveries. A strong f feature of the reperations plan from ^ the French point of view is that it nllinn in hnnnfito k ctSSUCia, ICS LUC CllllCO 1U luu uvuv^bu of Germany's prosperity. 'r Seizure of German customs was L added as fourth on the list of pen; alties adopted by the council. The ( other three are: Extension of the area of occupation; occupation of t the Ruhr district; refusal to admit k Germany to the league of nations. J The proposal to apply penalties to . the reparations and other agreements was presented by Premier Lloyd George. According to the terms of the " agreements the annuities and export taxes are payable semi-annually. ' Discount for advance payment will be 8 per cent, for the first two years, 6 per cent, the third and fourth - years, and 5 per cent, thereafter. : Germany is forbidden to establish ' foreign credits without the approval of tbe repearations commission. The supreme council's decisions l u-opo prvmTrmTnr.ated to Mjermany to 1 night. To Aid Austria. In the attempt to aid Austria it r was agreed that the allies should apply foreign reparations, the cost of the army of occupation and certain other debts to the allies in order that Austria might more easily obtain outside aid. It was also decided to convene in the neighborhood of Trieste | a conference of Austria and adjoining countries for the purpose of endeavoring to improce economic, commercial, financial and political rela tions between the central European ' states. Approval was given to M. Louvs heur's proposal for a 200,000,000 11 franc corporation to assist Austria in11 dustrially, in which the different gov. ernments may participate. A commis, sion will be "appointed to inquire into : the conduct of the Austrian adminisi tration with a vew to suggesting economies and improving the various eer ELECT ATKINSON SPEAKER OF HOUSE . A > A SPARTANBURG MAN SUCCEEDS THOS. P. COTHRAN. * On First Ballot Thomas S. McMillan, of Charleston, Made Speaker Pro Tem.?Base Ball Star Favorite. Columbia, Feb. 1.?Election of J. B. Atkinson, of Spartanburg, as speaker and Thos. S. McMillan, of Charleston, as speaker pro tempore, the clearing of the calendar nf third reading bills and the advancement of a number of second reading meas- 1 ures occupied the morning session of the house of representatives today before it adjourned at 1 o'clock to reconvene in the morning at 11 o'clock. ' > V The house and its committees have kept well abreast of their work and fjrVv "TlXfe the calendar will be very small, a$r: there were only three committee re- v ports during the session. The new bills introduced were about an average in number, but most of them were of local nature. / : John Buford Atkinson was elected speaker of the house to succeed Associate Justice Thos. P. Cothran, who was elected to the state supreme f bench last Wednesday, this afternoon on the first ballot, his only opponents being CTaude N. Sapp, of Co-, lumbia, and J. K. Owens, of BenneUtfville. The new speaker, who has ad- -s . - ? ^ 91 vancea irorn speaKer pro tempore, is succeeded by Thos. S. McMillan, of v Charleston, who likewise was elected on the first ballot over two oppop- "^r 1 x- ''-V; ' nents, J. K. Owens, of Bennettsville, ' ' and George S. Mower, 'of Newberry, Mr. McMillan receiving 63 votes, Mr. Owens 26, and Mr. Mower 14. The new speaker, a lawyer by profession, was born at Chester January 13, 1872, was graduated from Furman . with an A. B. degree 1894, and from the University of South Carolina, then the South Carolina College, with " the degree of doctor of laws in 1897. He moved to Spartanburg in 1904 and in the same year married Miss Corinne Searson, of ^.llendale. He V served as United States commission- \ er at Spartanburg from 1905 to 1917, during the latter year entering the. house of representatives where #he is now serving his second term. At '' . ? "* r ' the beginning of the legislature he was elected speaker pro tempore. Thos. S. McMillan; of Charleston, was born at Ulmers, Barnwell county, November 27, 1888, and was graduated from the University of South Carolina in, 1912 with the A. B. de-? gree and in 1912 with the bachelor of law degree. Upon completion of his law course he went to Charlesy j ton and entered the practice of his profession. He married Miss Clara Gooding, of Hampton, in 1916. During his college career he was a well known athlete. He began serving in the house in 1917, and is now on his * second term. ' { r--. * ; ?^?- I Awakening of Soil. | The cause of the spring awakening of the soil, with the rapid germination of seeds, is not yet clearly understood. The old view that it is' 'due . to rise in temperature has been disproven by the activity of microbe life quite independent of tempera-\ ture, and the suggestion of a preference for a given season is found unsatisfactory. Another possible cause is discovered by A. Lumiere, a French botanist. He points out that the toxic products secreted by the roots of plants and by the death and decay of vegetation in autumn may have a - . temporary retarding effect on growth and experiments seem to support this view. Soil collected in November was throughly washed to remove soluble toxic products. At the laboratory temperature, the washed soil produced vegetation very rapidly, but the unwashed gave little growth, and the concentrated washings prevented growtn. vices. The British prime minister expressed lively satisfaction over the fact that the allies had maintained their solid front. In taking leave of his colleagues he said: "We shall be glad to try to give you in London as cordial-, a reception as we received here and w? hope that you will be able to confront the London fog all the more courageously since the fog of the conference has been dissipated." \ -'vji